Planning board recommends approval of Buckhead 2 modification adding 10 homes, new parks and stormwater changes

The Nassau County Planning and Zoning Board recommended approval of FD 24-005, a modification to the Buckhead 2 final development plan that would allow 85 single-family units and associated infrastructure on roughly 207 acres in the Buckhead PUD near Ford Road in the Bryceville area.

Planning staff said the modification—filed by Calico Development with agents CETA Homes and Atkinson Engineering—adds 10 residential lots to the previously approved FD 22-004, alters roadway and stormwater layouts and relocates the primary recreational area from behind lots to a site with road frontage. "This proposed final development plan has been reviewed by county staff and is found to be consistent" with the county's land development code and the Buckhead PUD development order adopted in ordinance 2002-52, planner Adam Wilson told the board.

The modification would retain the PUD's special conditions, including a 2.6-acre recreation-area requirement. Staff said the revised plan provides the required 2.6 acres and an additional smaller recreation area, bringing total usable parkland in the phase to about 3.8 acres. The plan substitutes more, smaller stormwater ponds for the original two large ponds—staff said the design change was driven by construction phasing, cost and engineering feasibility—and shows wetland buffers averaging 25 feet along jurisdictional wetlands.

Applicant representative Randy Martinozzi told the board the redesign responded to engineering problems discovered during full engineering after the earlier approval. Martinozzi said project changes were necessary because the earlier phases lacked a nearby fire-water source and the original park location was not functional. To address the fire issue, he described a new equipment-accessible connection—installed under the roadway and kept full by gravity—that would allow firefighters to pump water from a pond through a manhole rather than rely on an informal surface-drawing arrangement. "We're gonna watch it with the fire department, and, hopefully, it'll be the new standard for Nassau County in rural situations," Martinozzi said.

Martinozzi also said the applicant moved the bus stop from the end of a cul-de-sac to the main road, added a shelter and increased the number of stormwater ponds from two to four to facilitate phased construction. He said the project would be developed in two phases to limit the developer's carry costs.

Several residents who live in earlier Buckhead phases urged the board to delay approval until existing pond and HOA maintenance issues in phases 1 and 2 are resolved. Charlotte Hicks, who said she has lived in Buckhead nearly 22 years, said access and emergency response are problems: "If my house caught on fire, I think it could take care of about half of my house if the fire truck could get through," she said, citing narrow roads and parked cars. Catherine Clark, another resident, said the neighborhood has six ponds "that are disintegrating" and that maintenance records were not turned over when the HOA was transferred. Wanda Franklin said it had taken two years to learn who polices HOAs: "Nobody. Nobody is policing the HOAs," she said. Stephanie Hall said the HOA received no maintenance records at turnover and reported cracking retaining walls and concrete.

Planning and development staff and the applicant told the board that the Buckhead 3–4 modification review addresses only phases 3 and 4 and that the county's authority does not extend to retroactively correcting maintenance of infrastructure in phases already turned over to an HOA. Elizabeth Beck of the planning department and Kayla Purse of development services said the Development Review Committee and the fire department had reviewed the proposed dry-hydrant/alternative water-supply solution and signed off on it for phases 3 and 4; they also noted the PUD ordinance had previously waived some requirements—for example, sidewalks—and that those waivers remain part of the adopted PUD.

After hearing staff, the applicant and public comment, board member Morris moved to recommend approval of FD 24-005; the motion was seconded and passed on a voice vote. Staff had earlier described this hearing as the Planning and Zoning Board recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners.

The record for this item includes staff reports, DRC materials and correspondence submitted for the file; staff said required wetland buffer and other conditions will be verified during site construction inspections. The board's recommendation will be forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners for final action.

Nuts and bolts: FD 24-005 would be a modification to FD 22-004 (previously approved for 75 single-family units) to allow 85 units, change roadway and stormwater layouts, relocate recreation space to road frontage, and provide wetland buffers and a new alternative fire-water access system. The sidewalks exemption and second-access waivers are part of the original PUD ordinance and remain in force for these phases.